Rotary fan or propeller.



H. RUTHENBERG. ROTARY FAN 0R PROPELLER. APPLICATION FILED JULY2, 1909.

959,392, Patented May 24, 1910.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

AIONYS ANDREW I QRANAM C0. PNOTO-LITNOGMPTIEM WASHINGTON 9. c.

H. RUTHENBERG.

ROTARY FAN OR PROPELLER.

ABPLIOATION FILED JULY 2,1909.

959,392, Patented May 24, 1910.

3 SHEETS-8151231 3.

HERMANN RUTHENBERG, OF VILLEN COLONIE GRUNEWALD, NEAR BERLIN, GERMANY.

ROTARY FAN OR PROPELLER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 24, 1910.

Application filed. July 2, 1909. Serial No. 505,574.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HERMANN RUTHEN- BERG, a subject of the King ofPrussia, residing at No. 52 Konigs Allee, Villen Colonie Grunewald, nearBerlin, German Empire, have invented certain new and useful Improvementsin Rotary Fans or Propellers, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in rotary fans or propellersadapted to act upon the air, and particularly to such air propellers asare used for propelling air ships or flying machines and which areactuated either by hand or by mechanical-means.

In describing the invention I shall make reference only to airpropellers, in which the improvements have proved particularly useful.But I wish to be understood, that I do not limit my invention to theparticular use described, and that the same may advantageously beapplied to fans or other apparatus of this character.

In the construction of fans or propellers it is of importance, that thepropeller be as light as possible, and yet sufliciently strong to resistthe strains exerted thereon by the pressure of the air. Furthermore, theblades and the bearings must be so constructed that the friction of theair on the blades and the friction of the shafts within the bearings arereduced to a minimum.

The object of the present improvements is to provide a fan or propellerwhich is in accordance with these requirements. And with this object inview, my invention consists of the matters to be hereinafter de scribedand particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

For the purpose of explaining the invention two examples of a propellerdesigned for use in a flying machine have been shown in the accompanyingdrawings, in which the same numerals of reference have been used in allthe views to indicate corresponding parts.

In said drawingsFigure l, is a perspective view of a flying machineprovided with two propellers of my improved construction,

Fig. 2, is a front elevation of one of the propellers, Fig. 3, is a topView of Fig. 2, Fig. 4, is a side View of the hub of the propeller, Fig.5, is a top view of the same, Fig. 6, is a cross-section of a knife likeblade used in constructing certain parts of the propeller for thepurpose of decreasing the resistance of the air, and Fig. 7 is a part ofthe frame work showing the blade secured thereto. Figs. 4 to 7 are shownon an enlarged scale. Figs. 8, 9 and 10 are views of another propellerconstructed according to my invention. Fig. 8, shows this propeller seenfrom the front, Fig. 9 is a perspective view, and Fig. 10 is an edgeview.

Referring to the drawings, Fig. 1 illustrates one example of using myimproved propeller, the latter being shown as mounted on a flyingmachine. However, it should be understood, that I do not limit myself tothe particular use described hereinafter and illustrated in thedrawings. It should also be understood, that the construction of theflying machine, the method of mounting the propeller on the same, andthe number of the propellers used in a machine are immaterial as far asmy invention is concerned.

In the example shown in Figs. 1 to 7, the propellers 1, 1 are disposedin the rear part of the flying machine, and they are secured with theirhubs to shafts 3, 3 adapted to be rotated in opposite directions, asindicated by the arrows in Fig. 1. -Thereby the flying machine ispropelled. The means for raising or lowering the flying machine areimmaterial as far as my invention is concerned, and they will thereforenot be described, my invention relating merely to the construction ofthe fan or propeller, and its combination with a flying machine of anyconstruction. The propeller is constructed of a pair of tubular rings 5and 6 which in the preferred form are constructed as continuousMannesmann tubes or in a similar way insuring great strength of tensionand flexure. The pair of rings are connected with each other by severalstraight tubular rods 7 which are likewise made of strong material. Toprovide for a rigid connection of the parts any preferred means may beemployed, which means are known in the art and need no detaileddescription. For further increasing the rigidity of the frame andsecuring it against axial displacement I prefer to provide wires 8 and'17 which have one of their ends attached to the rings 5 and 6, andtheir other ends to the shaft 3 or parts connected therewith, such forinstance as subsidiary hubs and the like. Preferably, the said wires areprovided with tension locks such as are used in connection with thespokes of bicycle wheels, though such locks are not necessary in allcases.

A frame work constructed as described possesses considerable rigidity,so that it provides a reliable support for the blades of the propeller.The number of such blades required under varying conditions will bedetermined by calculation in the usual way. In the example shown, thepropeller is provided with four blades; but there may be provided two,three, five or more. Each of the blades consists of a frame work and thefilling for the same. The frame work consists of a straight tubular rod10 connecting the rings 5 and 6, and a pair of tubular rods 11 and 12secured within suitable bores 13 of the hub let. The latter carries adisk 15 and lugs 16 offset from one another and formed with the bores13. This construction, and particularly the novel form of the hub 1%,has proved particularly effective in providing a rigid frame work forthe blades. Evidently a hub of different construction, or a plurality ofsuch hubs can be used. Furthermore instead of a straight tubular rod 10a curved rod may be provided. In this case, the blades providet by theframe work are not entirely plane but curved, which is preferable forcertain purposes.

The faces of the blades or the filling of the frame work can be made ofsheet metal, such for example as aluminum, or a strong alloy ofaluminum. In the preferred form, however, I use a filling which isconstructed as follows: Between the tubular rods 10 and 11 there isprovided a netting of wire or some textile fabric such for example asjute, yarn, wool, hemp, or the like, or some suitable woven, knitted, ortwisted textile fabric or wire netting, which is loosely or tightlystretched over the frame Work, and which provides a support for somehardening material, such for example as paper pulp, or papier mach. Thislayer of paper pulp or the like after being hardened is covered with alayer of varnish, gum, or some other suitable material adapted to makethe blades water proof and as smooth as possible, so that the resistanceof the air is reduced to a minimum. To further decrease the resistanceof the air, the said blades may be ground or polished. A fur thersuitable means for constructing the filling of the blades consists ofthin pieces of wood, which are preferably also covered with some waterproof material.

A further object of the improvements is to provide means whereby theresistance of the air is reduced, which means have proved particularlyeffective. For this purpose I provide knife like or edged blades 20 onthe tubular rods 7 or at a suitable part of the circumference of thetubular rings 5, 6

which are disposed parallel to the tubes 7 or at an angle thereto, andwhich are made for example of wood. To enable a blade of theconstruction described to be neatly fitted to the tubes, it is formedwith grooved or semi-circular cross-section fitting on the tubes.Furthermore suitable means are provided for holding the said blades inplace on their tubes. Blades of a similar character are preferablyprovided on the tubes 10, ll and 12, which blades in the preferred formare equal in length to their tubes.

In the other example shown in Figs. 8 to 10 on the shaft 3 are keyed twohubs 21, 22, which may, if desired, be replaced by a single long hub.These hubs 21 and 22, which are secured to the shaft or projectionsthereof in any suitable manner each carry four spokes 23, 2st, 25, 26 or27, 2S, 2%), 30, of which each two adjacent spokes, for example 23 and24 or 27 and 28 are at an angle of 90. The manner of connecting thesespokes with the hubs is not shown in the drawing, because it has nothingto do with the invention and can be carried out in any suitable way. Thespokes 23, 24:, 25, 26 are at an angle of et5 to the respective spokes27, 28, 29, 30. All the spokes are secured at their outer ends to twoparallel hoops 5, (3 of equal diameter, which are connected together bytransverse stays 7, so as to form a rigid structure. Both the hoops 5and (S and the transverse stays 7 are preferably made of thin steelpipes, for example of Mannesmann pipes. Instead of the parallel hoops 5,(3 the number of which can be increased, if desired, )olygonal framesfor example with 8 or 16 sides, can be used. Further, the transversestays 7 may be arranged at an angle to the planes of the hoops 5 and (Sor be replaced by other equivalent means. In the rigid structure thusformed are provided four similar vanes 31, which, as particularlyevident from Fig. 9, have a twisted surface. The advantage of this partof my invention consists in the use of such vanes having the twistedsurface shown or a similarly twisted form in connection with a rigidstructure consisting of hoops 5, (3 and tansverse stays 7 or theirequivalents. The number of the vanes is different according to thecircumstances. For example in the case of wind wheels or fans it may beadvisable to use two or three of such vanes, while in the case of apropeller designed for an air ship or the like it may be desirable toadopt four vanes or to increase the number to 5, 6 or even more. Thetwisted surfaces, which these vanes possess already exist in the case ofship propellers. They have however never been employed for wind wheels,fans and propellers in combination with the described rigid structure.In regard to the construction of these vanes it may be mentioned thatthey can be made of any suitable sheet metal for example ofaluminum-bronze or other suitable metal. They can however also be madeof wood papier mach, canvas or any other suitable material. Of course,care must be taken that the vanes are protected as much as possibleagainst the action of the weather, and, for this purpose, a Waterproofcoating of varnish, enamel etc. may be used. In the case of wood thevanes consist preferably of a series of parallel laths, a second seriesof such laths being arranged at an angle of 90. The adjacent lathsshould be preferably connected together by a tongue and groove. Thelattice work thus formed is then covered with some suitable cloth. Inorder to avoid injurious friction the spokes and transverse stays areprovided with sharp knifelike edges 20 formed in integral relation withsaid parts or attached thereto.

Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my saidinvention and in what manner the same is to be per formed, I declarethat what I claim is 1. A rotary fan or propeller comprising a hub,spaced tubular rings, tubular rods connecting the rings, tubular spokessecured to the hub and to the rings, the spokes being arranged in pairsand the spokes of the pairs being at an angle one to the other, andvanes secured to the spokes.

2. A rotary fan or propeller, comprising a hub, spaced tubular rings,tubular rods connecting the rings, tapering blades projecting from therods between the rings, tubular spokes secured to the hub and rings, thespokes being arranged in pairs and the spokes of the pairs being at anangle one to the other, and vanes secured to the spokes.

3. A rotary fan or propeller, comprising a hub having a plurality ofsockets, spaced tubular rings, tubular rods connecting the rings,tubular spokes fittin in the sockets of the hub and secured to therings, tubular rods secured to the rings between each pair of spokes,and vanes secured to the spokes and to the last named tubular rods.

4. A rotary fan or propeller, comprising a central hub having aplurality of sockets, spaced rings, rods connecting the rings, spokesfitting in the sockets and secured to the rings, rods, connecting therings, one between each pair of spokes, vanes secured to the spokes andto the last named rods, auxiliary hubs, and wires extending from therings to the auxiliary hubs.

5. A rotary fan or propeller, comprising a central hub, spaced rings,rods connecting the rings, spokes secured to the hub and rings, rodsconnecting the rings, one between each pair of spokes, vanes secured tothe spokes and to the last named rods, auxiliary hubs, wires secured tothe rings and to the auxiliary hubs, and tension wires also secured tothe rings and auxiliary hubs, sundry of the tension Wires passingthrough the vanes.

6. A rotary fan or propeller, comprising a central hub having an annularflange and sockets arranged alternately on opposite sides of the flange,spaced rings, rods connecting'the rings, tapering blades projecting fromthe rods between the rings, spokes fitting in the sockets and secured tothe rings, rods connecting the rings, one between each pair of spokes,vanes secured to the spokes and to the last named connecting rods,auxiliary hubs one on each side of the central hub, wires extending fromthe rings to the auxiliary hubs, and tension wires also secured to therings and auxiliary hubs, sundry of the tension wires passing throughthe vanes.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of twowitnesses.

HERMANN RUTHENBERG.

Witnesses:

FRANZ SOHWENTERLEY, HENRY HASPER.

